Resistance welding (also known as electric-resistance welding) is a known metallurgical process wherein metal is heated by its own resistance to a semi-fused (i.e., soft) or fused (i.e., molten) state by the passage of very heavy electric currents for very short lengths of time and then welded by the application of pressure.
Conventional methods for attaching parts together include gas metal arc welding. Gas metal arc welding uses a consumable metal wire as one electrode and the parts as another electrode, and moves the consumable metal wire (or the parts) to draw an arc and weld the parts together. The welding is accompanied by a gas (such as a mixture of argon and carbon dioxide) to prevent oxidation and stabilize the arc. Such gas metal arc welding is well known. In a conventional gas metal arc welding technique, solid metal wire or metal core wire (i.e., an annular-solid wire whose core is filled with metal powder such as a mixture of metal, alloy and/or oxide powders) is used with the wire at a positive electrical welding potential and with the parts electrically grounded. The welding arc creates a molten weld puddle which results in the welding together of the parts. Gas metal arc welding requires expensive welding equipment, the molten weld puddle tends to flow away from the joint area depending on weld position resulting in welds of inconsistent quality, and the process requires a long cycle time between welds.
Conventional methods for attaching parts together also include friction welding. To join two tubes together end to end, one of the tubes is rotated about its longitudinal axis, and the tube ends are pressed together, wherein friction causes heating of the ends creating the weld. To join a tube to a plate, the tube is rotated about its longitudinal axis, and the tube end and the plate are pressed together, wherein friction causes heating creating the weld. Friction welding requires expensive welding equipment, and the process requires a long cycle time between welds. Also, friction welding may not be applicable if no part to be welded can be rotated.
Conventional methods for attaching a tube to a member additionally include bonding a flange of a tube to a member using an adhesive wherein the adhesive-coated tube and member are heated in an oven to cure the adhesive. When the tube is a thin-walled tube, the heat of the oven may deform the tube. Conventional methods for attaching a tube to a member further include laser-beam or electron-beam welding together of the abutting ends of two straight tubes or the overlapping ends of two straight tubes which require expensive welding equipment and expensive part geometry tolerances prior to welding.
What is needed is an improved method for joining a tube to a member.